Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: Cardboard Stamping

My oldest has become very picky when it comes to his wardrobe. T-shirts in particular. So when he recently ripped through a toy box and left the cardboard all over the playroom, I got inspired. The lines inside the cardboard create such a cool texture I knew we could make some really great t-shirt prints. Here's how I/we did it...

Materials:

cardboard

exacto blade

metal ruler

pen

scissors

hot glue gun

t-shirt(s)

fabric paint(s)

brayer (if you have one)

glass (or other flat surface)

1. I cut the cardboard into strips and then proceeded to make shaped onto the board with my pen and ruler(s).

2. Using scissors, I cut out the marked shapes.

3. Using the exacto blade, I removed the outer layer of the cardboard to reveal the stripes.

4. I then cut out little handles for my stamps and hot glued them to the backs of each stamp. (I had to reinforce my circle because it was extremely flimsy due to my little's ripping open of aforementioned toy box.)

 5. Prepare your paints for stamping. (I used a stamping brayer and glass from an old picture frame.)

6. Lay your t-shirt out flat and place a cardboard piece in between the front and back of t-shirt. (I used an old cereal box because the box from the toy wasn't big enough.)

7. Squeeze paint out onto glass surface and smooth it out.
8. Place cardboard shape into paint and make sure the lines are covered.

 9. Press stamp onto t-shirt making desired pattern(s).

10. Once paint is dry, iron to set the ink before washing. Bam! You're done.

My goofballs actually liked them so much that they wore them once completed. Success! Wahoo. For my first go-round I used some old white tees we had on hand, because I wasn't sure they'd actually like them or wear them. I can't wait to get some grey t-shirts and do some other fun prints. (Yes, my youngest is wearing one winter glove in 100+ heat. He's quirky and I love him for it.) My oldest is into neons in a big way, so we used some slick neon fabric paint that I already had on hand. I really hope you give this project a try. It's so simple and fun. 

Are you into the neon trend? xo